CHAPTER 28 (PART 2)

Ten minutes later, Yu Shanbei pointed excitedly at a branch and shouted, “There! There’s food!”

He climbed up using hands and feet, but only got a pesky little red flag—no supplies!

Yu Shanbei stared blankly for a few seconds, then howled to the sky, “Damn it! Who the hell—”

The show’s effect was maximized; the audience was delighted.

[It’s your own sister, the one who gave you a thousand bucks, didn’t expect that, huh?]

[LOL, totally fooled by Sister Sheng]

[Haha, silly Beizi meltdown live]

Gu Sheng: Sorry, little brother!

In the end, they exchanged that big bag of flour for three large loaves of bread.

When you’re hungry, everything tastes good. Gu Sheng’s even had taro paste filling, and she ate happily.

On the way, Wen Heng found drinking water supplies a few times, filled two water bottles, and unscrewed a cap to hand one to Gu Sheng: “Don’t choke.”

Gu Sheng made muffled sounds, finished her bread, and took a few sips of water. The happy feeling of fullness filled her mind; her peach blossom eyes squinted with contentment.

One bread was enough to satisfy her—no trace of the spoiled rich girl image she used to have.

Wen Heng ate one bread as well, then handed her the third.

“I’m full, you eat it,” Gu Sheng waved him off.

Wen Heng didn’t eat it either, instead packing the bread into his bag for the evening, in case there wasn’t much food later.

Other groups of contestants had some luck: Qing Tian’s group exchanged for fruit, pancakes, and popcorn; Shan Lu got fried rice by trading a bag of rice; Wang He and his group were luckier to find ready-to-eat cup noodles, paired with Lu Yuzhuo’s preserved eggs that weren’t confiscated by the production team—making the audience salivate inexplicably.

At noon, the couples each found shady spots to rest, then continued to gather supplies in the afternoon, working hard for dinner and shelter.

But after half a day of scavenging, supplies were thinning out, and tools were no longer as easy to find as at the start.

Gradually, everyone’s energy ran low. Those who had gathered a good haul during the day slowly stopped, taking advantage of the last daylight to head down the mountain.

Shan Lu’s group and Gu Sheng’s group kept pushing until the end. Gu Sheng found a pot, and as they headed down, Wen Heng found a small bag of flour again.

But this time they only exchanged it with the production team for two plain steamed buns.

The audience felt heartbroken.

[The production team is so stingy!!]

[Just two buns? Are they expecting us to chew air?!]

“Ah, I can’t walk anymore.” Gu Sheng tugged at Wen Heng’s arm and simply sat down on a patch of open ground.

Wen Heng was a neat freak, but this time he just sat down with her.

The mountain breeze quietly blew through the valley, and the distant lights of homes at the foot of the mountain made them feel very lonely.

[Wuuuuu—]

Just as the couple fans stopped shipping them and started feeling sorry that they had to gnaw on plain steamed buns, Gu Sheng began setting up a pot, directing Wen Heng to gather firewood, and borrowed a lighter from the crew — starting to boil water.

After getting everything ready, she took out a packet of black pepper hot and sour soup seasoning from her pocket.

Gu Sheng: “Hehe.” Luckily, we found a pot.

[Awww! Sister is such a clever little trickster!]

[Ahhh, I’m so happy, what’s going on! Finally, they can eat something better!]

But that wasn’t all. Gu Sheng unzipped her backpack again and pulled out a bottle of chili sauce.

[Hahaha, oh wow!]

[Gu Sheng, you’re the best!!]

Gu Sheng: “Hehe.” Carrying this wasn’t in vain.

Wen Heng couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to tap her nose.

“Doing magic tricks?”

Gu Sheng dodged his hand, but smugly squinted.

Down the mountain, Yu Shanbei was feeling triumphant. Although he had been tricked by that red flag, he still got a lot of supplies!

Not as good as his self-heating hotpot and self-heating rice, but better than nothing! He and Yiyi definitely wouldn’t go hungry!

But while he was nibbling on bread, a strong aroma suddenly floated in from somewhere.

Black pepper hot and sour soup, scent drifting for miles.

Gu Sheng wrapped the steamed buns in plastic, tore them open, and spread the fragrant spicy sauce inside. Wen Heng had been working hard all day, so Gu Sheng wasn’t stingy — she made his bun just as good.

And so the top star and his wife sat there by the bright moon and the mountain, holding the simplest dry food.

Gu Sheng raised her bun and gestured to Wen Heng: “Cheers!”

Wen Heng was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh, clinking his bun against hers: “Cheers.”

The white buns touched, and together with the fresh spicy soup, they ate happily.

That one meal seemed to restore a lot of their energy.

Down the mountain, the other guests were drooling over the smell.

Fruit didn’t taste sweet anymore, and Yu Shanbei’s bread wasn’t fragrant.

He howled to the sky, tears streaming down his face with his noodles: “Who! Exactly who! —”

The online audience had just been melted by Wen Heng and Gu Sheng’s sweetness, then came back to see the pitiful Yu Shanbei and Lu Yiyi, and everyone — including the crew behind the monitors — died laughing at him.

[Sorry, that’s still your real sister]

[LOL, dying laughing, Gu Sheng forever the queen! Wen Heng, get me some of that!]

—

When it was finally time to pick rooms, the crew actually showed mercy and didn’t set up any more games.

“Today’s room allocation will be based on the amount of supplies everyone grabbed! During the day’s filming, the directors recorded each couple’s haul of every item~”

Gu Sheng suddenly remembered something and asked the director: “That big bag of flour we got — it doesn’t count as just one item… right?”

The director smiled slyly: “It sure does!”

Gu Sheng: fists clenched!

Audience: [Ahhh, sneaky director!]

Wen Heng, the one who actually carried the flour, showed a helpless expression.

After all the supplies were counted, the Qing Tian group took first place, finding 16 items in total. Wen Sheng was second with 14 items, Shan Lu had 13, and Wang Lv got 10.

According to this order, Gu Sheng and Wen Heng should be sleeping in the villagers’ house.

Unexpectedly, Yu Shanbei suddenly pulled out a prop card: “But I found a room upgrade card! Ahahaha!”

With one last twist, Shan Lu was bumped up a rank, pushing Wen Sheng down to third.

Gu Sheng pretended to be annoyed and shouted: “Yu—Shan—Bei!”

Lu Yiyi rubbed her hands apologetically, while Yu Shanbei laughed: “Sheng Sheng Jie, you guys go keep Uncle Wang company tonight! We’ve already been there yesterday! His bed’s really good!”

Gu Sheng had no choice but to poke him, then Wen Heng pulled her back.

But—at least it was a house with a roof, way better than last night’s tent.

The forest guard had lived there for over ten years; what was there to complain about?

…

Night fell, and Wen Heng and Gu Sheng arrived outside the two brick-tile houses.

Uncle Wang knew someone was coming tonight and had been waiting. As soon as he saw their figures, he came out to greet them.

The flashlight’s harsh beam was almost blinding, but the two faces it lit up were both very handsome. Uncle Wang stared: “Those two kids yesterday were already pretty good-looking, but you two, you really are…”

Like immortals!

Gu Sheng smiled: “They praised you a lot, said you’re very kind.”

Uncle Wang smiled honestly and opened the door, “Come in, come in! I’ve tidied up the rooms again—”

The forest guard’s home was simple: two small single-story rooms side by side. Hanging on the walls were his mountain patrol water bottle, walkie-talkie, and a wooden stick he used for walking.

There were no entertainment devices; in Uncle Wang’s room was just a small old TV and an even older radio. He’d lived this lonely mountain patrol life for over ten years.

This was the hero of the forest.

So when Uncle Wang saw their enthusiasm, he poured them water and found the milk he’d bought at the market earlier for them.

Gu Sheng somehow didn’t refuse and sat down, inserting a straw into the milk carton. While drinking, she chatted with Uncle Wang.

Before splitting up at the road fork, Yu Shanbei had already told them that Uncle Wang’s wife had passed away early, and his son worked as a porter in the town below the mountain. Because of the special nature of his job, even during Chinese New Year, he couldn’t leave, so he hadn’t seen his family for a long time.

Gu Sheng hadn’t seen her family for a long time either. She seriously finished the milk Uncle Wang gave her and said, “Once your son finishes his work, he’ll be able to come see you.”

“Exactly!” Uncle Wang’s face lit up with hope, though it quickly turned into a worried frown. “But when I called last time, his foreman said their wages were delayed. Without money, he can’t come back—ah, never mind! At least I’ll be on TV this time. My son will be able to see me on screen!”

Gu Sheng and Wen Heng exchanged a glance.

Then she smiled and nodded, answering with certainty, “Our show is really popular. He’ll definitely see you!”

Uncle Wang grinned from ear to ear and subconsciously smoothed his thinning hair.

Wen Heng wasn’t great at handling situations like this, but he stood quietly at the side, listening.

Seeing it was almost time to rest, Uncle Wang took them to the room they’d sleep in that night.

“You can take a shower, but I only have cold water,” Uncle Wang said, looking a bit embarrassed, then quickly added with a chuckle, “But washing with mountain spring water is good too! You two still carry the scent of the world beyond the mountains—so fragrant!”

Gu Sheng blinked, and for some reason, her heart twinged a little.

Uncle Wang himself didn’t seem to feel anything was wrong. Since he didn’t really know what kind of show this was, and because Gu Sheng and Wen Heng hadn’t acted very affectionate—no holding hands, no closeness like that singing and dancing couple from yesterday—he assumed they weren’t together.

So, in all innocence, he asked, “You’re both so good-looking. Are you siblings?”

The livestream chat had just been touched by the emotional moment, but now burst into laughter:

[Hahahaha siblings!]

[This is the downside of being too good-looking lol]

[Uncle Wang really hit a nerve, you can see Wen Heng flinching]

Wen Heng finally opened his mouth to explain, “We’re husb—”

But Gu Sheng had already jumped in with a bright smile, “We’re comrades! Partners!”

Wen Heng instantly swallowed his words.

Uncle Wang took it at face value and gave them a salute. “Well then, that’s great!”

Gu Sheng returned the salute playfully. “You’re even better—you’re a hero guarding the forest!”

Uncle Wang smiled so hard his eyes disappeared into his wrinkles.

After Gu Sheng and Wen Heng quickly washed up, the little forest warden’s cabin fell into peace again.

The livestream from Wen Sheng’s couple-cam switched to the inside of their room—but the viewers noticed something—

While the fixed camera in their room didn’t show anything unusual, the camera in Uncle Wang’s room, which the couple had switched to themselves, revealed a small scene.

Wen Heng had left Uncle Wang a business card. He muted the mic, so no one could hear what he said, but the viewers could clearly see the joy on Uncle Wang’s face, his repeated nods and thankful bows.

Meanwhile, in a corner, Gu Sheng secretly pulled two bottles of chili sauce from her bag and stashed them at the bottom of Uncle Wang’s cupboard.

[Wuwuwu Wen-ge definitely helped solve the wage issue for Uncle Wang’s son! And Sheng-jie left behind the “scent of the outside world” she brought with her!]

[😭😭 I can’t believe I’m tearing up watching a dating show]

[What kind of gods am I even stanning right now 😭😭]

[WenSheng forever gods!]

…

Once everything was done, Gu Sheng tiptoed back into the room.

The room wasn’t big, and the bed was narrow, but Uncle Wang had kindly given them two blankets, afraid they might get cold at night.

Gu Sheng had taken a cold-water shower, but even that felt refreshing. She climbed into bed feeling completely relaxed—this was the best moment in a working person’s day!

—Sleep! Precious sleep!

Meanwhile, Wen Heng stood outside for a while, letting the mountain breeze wash over him.

He was mulling over one thing.

Just now, in front of Uncle Wang, Gu Sheng didn’t say they were married.

And earlier in the day, when the other couples were making grand declarations of love, she didn’t seem to expect anything from him at all.

Wen Heng replayed everything from the past while, remembering how Gu Sheng had acted around him—how she reacted to pain, every little detail.

—And one thought surfaced clearly from his subconscious: Gu Sheng might really not love him anymore?

She’d been gradually revealing her true self to him, changing his whole impression of her. But yes, she hadn’t expressed love in a long time—not even much affection.

The mountain wind turned colder the longer he stood out there.

A vague, hard-to-name feeling grew in his chest. Wen Heng felt he needed to get to the bottom of this.

He turned around—just as a system prompt rang in his head.

“Warning. You will experience your 28th pain episode in 5 minutes.”

Wen Heng strode quickly back into the room.

Gu Sheng had rolled herself into a blanket burrito, still wondering why that dog of a man hadn’t come back yet. But the exhaustion from the day was too much. Sleep took over fast. By the time Wen Heng came in, her eyes were already closed.

He stood by the bed for a while. She didn’t move, so he couldn’t tell if she was really asleep.

But he really wanted to ask her that question.

Wen Heng poked her back.

No response.

He ruffled her hair.

Still nothing.

…Was she really asleep?

Wen Heng wasn’t convinced. He decided to try one last time.

But just as he reached out again, the system let out a long, shrill “beep——”

“This random pain point once again exhibits symmetry and correlation with previous episodes. Following Episode 27’s bone-chilling cold, Episode 28—”

“‘Scorching Heat and Drowning Fire’ (literal meaning). Pain Level: 4.”

Wen Heng: “……”

Not only did he not get an answer to his question, but now his entire body was burning up like it was on fire.

…

Gu Sheng had been dreaming.

In the dream, Uncle Wang’s son resolved all his troubles at the construction site and got his wages back. He came up the mountain to see his father, and the two of them finished the chili sauce she had left behind, together.

It was such a warm, heart-melting dream that even asleep, she felt moved.

But then someone rubbed up against her.

A hand tugged at the blanket she’d wrapped tightly around herself.

Half-asleep, Gu Sheng vaguely heard a man’s low, hoarse voice—sexy and raspy in the night.

Wen Heng murmured her name, “Gu Sheng…”

Just one word, but it sent the livestream chat into chaos.

[I KNEW IT. I STAYED UP FOR THIS!!!]

[Aaaaaah I KNEW something was coming!!]

[Wen-ge what are you trying to do!!]

Gu Sheng was so sleepy she couldn’t open her eyes: What are you doing! A raid or what!

“Gu Sheng…”

That damn man wasn’t done yet!

When Wen Heng called to her in a low, hoarse voice for the third time,

Gu Sheng slapped his face: “Wen Heng! No flirting!”

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